


Musings in a Siberian Bunker

by i_would_live_for_tony_stark21



Series: Arc Reactor, Magic, Winter Ficlets [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Civil War (Marvel), Civil War Team Iron Man, Depression, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Not Steve Friendly, Odin (Marvel)'s A+ Parenting, POV Loki (Marvel), POV Tony Stark, Panic Attacks, Post-Thor (2011), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression, Sokovia Accords, Thor: The Dark World, Tony Angst, Tony Stark Angst, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Has Nightmares, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, Tony-centric, Wordcount: 5.000-10.000, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:27:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23023996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_would_live_for_tony_stark21/pseuds/i_would_live_for_tony_stark21
Summary: As he lays trapped in his dead suit in the cold Siberian Bunker, Tony is forced to be alone with his thoughts. He thinks about all he has been through and comes to the realization that the Avengers never saw him as a friend the same way he did.The first time Loki’s life had truly gone to shit was when the Jotun warrior had grabbed him, setting off a cascade of events that proved what he had always feared to be true.The aftermath of Siberia if Loki had intervened and Tony had learned that living well was the best type of revenge.Very mental health heavy and angsty.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: Arc Reactor, Magic, Winter Ficlets [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1409191
Comments: 40
Kudos: 601





	1. Chapter 1

As he lay on the concrete floor of the bunker, blood simultaneously seeping out of the suit as the cold leeched in, Tony finally had the time to think. He hadn’t been simply alone with his thoughts for years.

It wasn’t anything new. He had been like that after Afghanistan, throwing himself into SI until Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy had forced him to talk about it. And under the guidance of JARVIS and his extensive knowledge of everything on the internet, slowly, he somewhat recovered. He could finally slow down and sit with his racing thoughts and actually deal with them. He was finally able to regain some sense of equilibrium. He put in the work and the therapy worked. He exposed himself to water over several months and several panic attacks later, he could finally take a bath without immediately being dragged back to the cave. 

And then New York had happened, and the void of space was another place he thought he had left, yet truly hadn’t. His thoughts swirled, constantly pulling him back to the endless void. Theorizing, overanalyzing, coming up with innumerable futures. And again, he pushed them away, running in the opposite direction. He pushed himself into project after project, both SI and Avengers and kept up with appearances, gala after talkshow after press conference. He created Iron Legion, he destroyed Iron Legion. And at some point, JARVIS, having long outgrown his creator’s coding, finally got fed up with his coping mechanisms and refused to let Tony work until he had dealt with his issues. 

And Tony was fine again until the next time he wasn’t. Ultron was born and Jarvis was dead. Then the witch crept into his head and reopened the wounds of the past, bringing back the churning thoughts to the forefront of his mind. He threw himself back into SI and began working with the officials drafting the Accords. And this time there was no one there to stop him. 

But now as the wet snow blew into his face and melted in the remains of his arc reactor, he had all the time in the world to think of what led him here. 

Bruce was right when he had labeled the Avengers a ticking time bomb. Now that he thought about it, his team, the people he considered his friends were just a couple of SHIELD agents and some people with unique but dangerous skillsets. They were never a team, they were an easily manipulated destructive force. Fury had probably just wanted to keep them all in check. Saving the world was simply an added bonus.

But the collective trauma they had shared in New York had loosely brought them together. Loosely, since they only worked together for Earth shattering threats like Ultron or Rogers trapezing the world to save his Bucky. 

Yet he hadn’t seen that before. He had been hurting after New York. But unlike Afghanistan, he wasn’t the only one affected by the experience. He had latched onto his new “team” believing it would help slow down the train of thoughts in his head. The train never truly stopped hurtling around and around on circular tracks but it felt good to be a part of something, to be not quite so alone as before.

Tony was determined to get better. He had made so much progress after Afghanistan and he was determined to be positive. And he had gotten it into his head that the Avengers were the key to his recovery (because he had hoped they could help him, he never even considered that they wouldn't). He saw the best in his teammates, his friends. Friends that liked him so much they occasionally crashed at the tower. Friends he showered with upgrades and gifts for choosing to spend time with him even though he was just a consultant on the team. So Tony was insecure, sue him. And after Ultron, he felt a compulsive need to keep the team together and placate them so they could face the next invasion together. They were mad at him, but they were still on good terms, Tony convinced himself. And now their so-called team had splintered, conveniently excluding only Tony and his allies. 

He had thought they were friends, hell treated them like close friends, inviting them into his home and intimately baring himself for all of them to see. But it was all an illusion. An elaborate one well maintained by his mind, but one nonetheless. But the illusion had shattered when his sternum had. 

As the howling winds died down around him, he was finally forced to realize that all of them, never reciprocated his friendship. He had given them everything and expected the same. But they took him for granted, as if they knew several other genius billionaires in New York. They never truly listened to him but acted like they did, as if listening to him were somehow a burden. Thor had choked him, and nobody had moved forward to help him. They had abandoned him after JARVIS died, even Bruce. Then the Witch was in and Tony was out. It grated that she managed to fit in in a way Tony had never been able to.

Worst of all, Rogers had used his own money to search for his parents’ killers, knowing Tony would never bat an eye at the cost.

Rogers. Rogers had been the one to finally pull the wool from his eyes. 

“He’s my friend!”

“So was I.”

Tony drifted off into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Loki's POV

As difficult as saving Thor from his constant misadventures was, it was manageable. It was a thankless job, one that shouldn’t have been given to a child, let alone the second prince, but it was familiar. And he gave as good as he got, taking out his frustrations with his lot in life with annoying but relatively harmless pranks. Even letting the Jotun into Asgard had been carefully calculated. No harm would befall anyone except for their enemies. It was exhausting to babysit Thor and steer him towards Asgard’s best interests, but his life was objectively alright. Rewarding at times even. 

The first time Loki’s life had truly gone to shit was when the Jotun warrior had grabbed him, setting off a cascade of events that proved what he had always feared to be true. 

He was never even considered for the throne. He wasn’t just strange, he wasn’t even Asgardian. Maybe the denizens had picked up on that and that’s why they had always been leery of him. His own parents had never meant to tell him. He had devoted his entire life to Asgard and Thor’s wellbeing. He would have died for Odin, Frigga, or Thor without any regrets. But Odin and Frigga, people that were supposed to care for him and protect him had no such loyalty to him. And that damn near broke him.

Thor couldn’t possibly know, he wasn’t that good at keeping a secret, but his future reaction scared him. At the time he pushed Thor away, fearful that what little affection they had for each other with vanish with the reveal of his identity. He had lied to him about Odin’s death and Frigga’s wishes, but not out of any desire to keep grasp of the throne. He needed time to think without Thor bungling around the Nine Realms, plunging it into another bloody war. He wanted to protect himself from any further heartache. 

But then Sif, Heimdall, and the Warrior’s Three’s had hurt him instead, injuring him so swiftly and grievously because he had never expected it from them. 

The people he had grown up with for centuries weren’t his friends, immediately courting treason to rescue the “rightful king”. They had been there his entire life. And Heimdall, supposed caretaker the royal family, the throne, hadn’t even hesitated to let them pass when Loki was rightfully leader of Asgard. 

But with great time and distance from the events, Loki supposed time spent together wasn’t truly enough to know him, Loki couldn’t even fathom their logic. Did they think Queen Frigga, a powerful sorcerer and warrior in her own right, couldn’t wrest the throne and rule Asgard if Loki had indeed been working with the Jotun to destroy Asgard the entire time? Did they somehow believe Thor, the man who had led them to certain death on Jotunheim and who had been playing house with the Midgardians, would somehow be clever enough to save them all?

At the time, Loki had lashed out, uncaring of the fate of his former friends, sending the Destroyer after them. Thor had saved them in their eyes but Loki had been the one to save Asgard by crippling Jotunheim and preserving the peace. Thor hadn’t won the battle. Loki had simply chosen to lose. At some point, he had decided he didn’t care enough. Odin was a hypocrite and nothing more than a blind fool. Let Asgard have Thor as her ruler and let it be driven into the ground. 

The second time his life had gone to shit was when he fell into the void. Then with a fresh concussion and the lingering scars of both physical and mental torture, he had been betrayed again. This time it had been Thor. Thor had never even considered that Loki might not have wanted to invade Thor’s precious Midgard to rule it for himself. Loki had stopped caring at all at that point, content to decay away and die in prison instead of at Thanos’ hands. 

The third time his life had gone to shit was when he had aided his mother’s murderer. The shock of that revelation had been like being struck by Mjolnir. Loki found himself suddenly feeling alive and aware for the first time in years. He had swung from not caring at all to caring too much. 

He threw himself into ruling. Not because he cared about Asgard but out of respect for his mother (and fear of Thanos). She had betrayed him the least which didn’t even matter anymore. She was the only person in the Nine Realms that had actually loved him. 

She wouldn’t want the Universe to perish. Loki researched the infinity stones and studied current events. He forged relationships and did his best to prepare for Thanos’ arrival. And while monitoring the Nine Realms and beyond, even better than Heimdall ever had, he noticed Tony Stark bleeding out into the snow. 

Well now that wouldn’t do. It wouldn’t do to have the only Midgardian he wanted as an ally in the fight against Thanos to die before Loki had even approached him about the upcoming threat. 

Loki respected Stark. He had cared too much for longer than Loki. So Loki entered that bunker and healed the worst of the damage, bringing him back from the brink of death. Loki left him where he would be found in the hospital where his other friend was. Where his real friends were. 

He left a note for Stark’s eyes only, planning on leaving for now until Stark recovered. But looking at Stark’s battered face, a dam in him broke. He slid down the wall, sobbing with the unfairness of it all. Loki had been broken for so long he hadn’t even realized it. In that moment, Loki swore that no further harm would befall Stark. 

Stark too had felt betrayal again and again. Maybe with that kind of history, he would never betray Loki. He dared to hope that the genius Midgardian with an equally unsound mind could be his one true ally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cared too little hints at depression. cared too much hints at anxiety. Loki is a little less angsty because he's had more time to deal with things.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony’s POV

Six weeks. Six long weeks mostly confined to a bed and being poked and prodded at by a variety of medical professionals. It was the longest Tony had willingly stayed in a hospital. Mostly, it was to keep Rhodey company because he insisted on leaving if Tony was. Of course Rhodey, decorated Air Force Commander and follower of all rules, would only insist on checking out against medical advice to take care of Tony. But it was Tony’s turn to take care of him. It was his fault Rhodey had been injured in the first place. But he also stayed, partially, because he felt something unseen in his hospital room. 

Six weeks ago, he had woken up to a bewildered Pepper and a downright furious Rhodey. Behind them, Vision had been floating, his eyes shining an unearthly yellow, as he was shielding the room they were in. Tony had looked around the rest of the room, expecting to see someone else, but the presence he had felt had been quickly swept aside by more pressing matters. 

Apparently, Pepper, Rhodey and Vision had simultaneously felt a compulsion to approach that room in the hospital and had discovered Tony, injured, unconscious and with several nasty new scars marring his chest. Coupled with the distress call Friday sent out which clearly blamed Rogers for Tony’s injuries and dead suit, they were understandably a mix of confused, distressed, and angry to find him deposited in the same hospital Rhodey was recovering in with no explanation. He had woken up a few minutes after they had found him, adding to the chaos of an already unsettling discovery. 

Sure, he could investigate who had rescued and apparently healed the damage only a vibranium shield to the chest could create. And he’d love to get back into the suit and dump Rogers and his precious Bucky with the Accords Council. But he had decided, in the weeks of his convalescence, that while he could devote the time and energy towards investigating, he could also just not. He could just exist and rest and recover. He could keep Rhodey company and actually be there for Pepper. He had expected to die in the bunker. Waking up safe and sound felt like a third chance. A chance he didn’t deserve but he was going to use it to make things right. 

So he didn’t investigate. He spent quality time with his family. Hell, he had even flown in a therapist at Friday and Pepper’s insistence. And while it initially felt like pulling teeth, he had hope that it would help.

But the one thing he couldn’t let go was the feeling he had in his hospital room. With how much shit he had seen in the past decade alone, he wouldn’t be surprised if he had a ghost.

One point in favor of the ghost was that he kept seeing a piece of paper appear in various parts of his room. On the nightstand beside him. On top of his pillow. Precariously balanced on the handle of his door. And nobody else seemed to see it. 

After asking Vision a few times when he had found the paper in increasingly ridiculous places, he had stopped bringing it up. If it was magic, he wanted nothing to do with it. If he was hallucinating well, that was something new and hopefully his therapist would trick him into talking about it. But for now, it was more fun to think he had a ghost. And it wasn’t malevolent, it simply was.

It was a constant presence. It was there when he fell asleep at night and when he woke up from the nightmares. It was calming in its own weird way, to know that something was looking out for him. 

One night after a particularly bad nightmare, he tried talking to his ghost. 

Just a, “Hello. Who are you?”

And that goddamn note had flown onto his bed, swept by an unseen wind. 

Curiosity got the better of him so he opened it and read it. 

_Stark,_

_I don’t expect anything for saving you. It was the right thing to do._

__

_I removed the witch’s work in your mind. It was a nasty, unpleasant spell. Amplifying your fears and hiding memories. I’m sorry that you have had to suffer with it for so long, I know what it feels like to have someone always there in your head. Unfortunate, that the archer didn’t pick up on that._

____

_Keep preparing. The next invasion is coming._

_____ _

_I know you have no reason to trust me but let me know if you want to coordinate efforts. I know what it feels like to be betrayed again and again. To be betrayed by everyone that could possibly betray you. I would sooner fall off the Bifrost again than betray anyone._

______ _ _

_Loki_

______ _ _


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little scattered narration. to be fair a lot has happened in between last chapter and this one.
> 
> Not edited sorry if there are any typos, will get around to fixing them eventually.

A few months later. 

Tony’s POV

Tony was happy. Teaming up with Loki definitely accelerated his recovery and success. His therapist would say not to discount his own efforts in the process but Loki had given him the confidence to stick with the changes he made. Loki made them seem more realistic and feasible and they had both grown a lot since that day in his hospital room. Since that day, Loki and he had been inseparable.

Sure, as he read the note he had a growing sense of doom, recognizing the characteristic voice of the author. But then he remembered he had felt a presence in his room for forever. And it had never done anything to hurt him. Who else could it be other than Loki? And sure Loki was formerly a deadly enemy. But what the hell, he had never expected Steve to go full Machiavelli and yet here they were. 

So Tony thanked him and asked him for details after the threat. After appearing, Loki had told a harrowing story of his treatment in Asgard and at Thanos’ hands. And Tony had immediately believed him. Loki’s face held the same sheer fear that kept Tony up at night. Fear only the looming threat of a big bad like Thanos could inspire. 

Additionally, the New York invasion had never fully added up in Tony’s mind. He had never thought about it in great detail earlier, because of the inevitable PTSD episodes and panic attacks that would follow. But after Loki had removed the Scarlet bitch’s work and a lot of therapy and BARF he was able to consider it more thoroughly. Loki’s invasion made absolutely zero sense from a strategic standpoint. Being a full tilt diva and getting captured did nothing to further his plan but it did everything to get a team assembled. 

Loki had damn near broken down when he recounted how Thor hadn’t realized he wasn’t himself during the invasion. They had spent millennia together and Thor couldn’t even bother questioning why his green eyes had been the same unnatural blue as the infinity stones. Tony had never seen him this vulnerable. Loki was supposed to be the god of lies and a trickster, but he seemed like he was finally getting to tell his truth in this dark hospital room. 

Tony believed him because alone, neither of them would stand a chance against Thanos. The very next day, Loki himself had contacted an Earth wizard who turned out to be Dr. Stephen Strange, a former neurosurgeon that had previously run in the same social circles at fundraisers. Dr. Strange and several other wizards verified Loki’s story, horrified that they too had never investigated the invasion of New York more. 

Pepper and Rhodey cautiously accepted Loki, because he irrefutably had saved Tony from near certain death in Siberia. Vision was less accepting and made it very clear that he would be striking first and asking questions later if Loki did anything out of line. Hearing about Maximoff’s influence in Tony’s mind had further soured Vision’s already low opinion of her. Vision was protective of Tony now, probably overcompensating for not seeing what Maximoff was doing to him. 

It sucked but it seemed like Vision was growing up and being less trusting. He was learning that shitty people sometimes happened, careening into their lives and leaving without a thought to the damage they had caused. Tony hadn’t found time to check up on him yet, between all the craziness that had happened between Siberia and the present but he knew that Vision was seeing a therapist and regularly had lunch with Pepper. 

The craziness wasn’t all bad though. Once Loki had been vetted, he had healed Rhodey. Tony had cried at that and all Rhodey had done was punch him for feeling guilty before running over to hug him. Thanks to Loki, Rhodey was back on his feet kicking ass both in and out of the suit.  
Unfortunately, immediately after Rhodey’s miraculous recovery, Zemo’s secret footage of Siberia leaked and was soon on rotation in all the major news outlets. The one silver lining was that Loki hadn’t shown up on the film because he had used cloaking magic.

Immediately after Siberia, Tony had done his best to ignore the media and public opinion after the so-called civil war, letting Pepper and his expert PR team completely take the lead citing his absence as recovery sustained from injuries in Siberia. The press had been mollified by that. 

But now people actually knew how bad his injuries were and the media was working itself into a fever pitch. There was a swift and damning public outcry against the Rogues and an overwhelming outpouring of support for Tony. All discussion of whose fault the Civil War had ceased and the newly dubbed “Exvengers” were vilified. As Nigeria, Germany, Sokovia, and even Russia clamored for renewed efforts to track down the rogue Avengers, the Internet was working itself into a frenzy, debating whether Tony could have survived a vibranium shield to an already weakened chest. Simultaneously, flowers and cards flooded the entryways of SI buildings around the world. 

Among the furor, Hope Van Dyne’s voice rose to the top. She viciously condemned Scott Lang for stealing her father’s Ant Man suit and questioned why Team Cap did any of the things they did. She declared her support for the Accords and offered to ally herself with Iron Man and the remaining Avengers as Wasp if another threat rose since the Exvengers clearly weren’t capable of anything other than blood shed and property damage. 

And throughout everything, Loki was by his side. He had a wicked sense of humor and made insulting people into an art form. He and Loki had spent many nights drinking into the early hours, comparing their scars, baring their trauma. And Tony didn’t even have to worry about him. Loki had started seeing a psychologist without any prompting. Loki was one of the first friendships in recent memory that was stable and good. Everything he had with the Avengers had been tumultuous at best and toxic at worst. 

At Tony’s first Accord hearing about the Civil War, he started off his statement by explaining Loki’s pivotal role in saving his life and how Loki had come to Earth, at great personal cost, to warn us yet again about a larger threat. After the initial shock at that declaration, it took weeks before the Accords Council revisited the events of the Civil War. 

The Accords created a new task force to deal with Thanos and tapped Tony to quietly start recruiting New Avengers. After some investigation and consulting with Dr. Strange and the other sorcerers of Kamar Taj, they readily accepted Loki’s help as well. And Tony was able to be there for him, as Loki spoke in front of the council about the threat. Loki outwardly looked as calm and poised as always but Tony could tell how inwardly shaken he was. It was probably the first time in his life people had actually respected him and listened to what he had to say without judgment.

The Accords worked. And Steve and the others wouldn’t even know about how devastatingly well they worked until they were already saved. The Accords were in charge of figuring out the clusterfuck of how to present the news, of Loki’s innocence and the threat of Thanos, to the public, thank fuck. 

After their pressing business with the Accords had concluded, Tony, Loki and Rhodey invited Hope to the Avengers Compound and they began recruiting a team of New Avengers. He gave Pepper a suit. He checked in with Peter and Vision. He reached out to Charles Xavier and the X-men volunteered their forces as well. Tony dragged Fury out of the hole he had been hiding in and once Fury was involved, they soon had an aptly named Captain Marvel willing to help them. 

In between planning for the next invasion, Tony delighted in just hanging out with Loki. Loki was a lot more knowledgeable about Earth culture than Thor had been. And he gave a shit about Tony, he had gathered and saved some of the cards left for Tony at Stark Tower. Loki periodically read them aloud to Tony during lunch breaks and at the end of long days. 

The Accords Council handles presenting Loki as an ally to the public in a press conference, stating the findings of a thorough investigation while respecting as much of Loki and Tony’s privacy as they could. It goes off without a hitch. Then, Tony ensures Loki is accepted by the public by getting him on several talkshows, to tell his story. Then, they make a couple of appearances together and during one of those, Tony drops the bombshell that Loki is the one that saved him from dying in Siberia. 

Captain Marvel gets several other alien civilizations to create a coalition to defend their galaxy. A group called the Guardians of the Galaxy also joins the effort. Tony and Rhodey co-lead the new recruits and they train together. The heroes from Earth go on Accord sanctioned missions together and they do a world of good. 

Tony was happy. The best revenge was living well. He had a functional team that had movie nights and team dinners. Loki hung out almost constantly in Tony’s workshop and they took turns sharing stories about being an Asgardian prince and billionaire respectively. 

Tony had an idea of where the Exvengers were. There were only a few places around the world without surveillance where they could hide but Tony had decided long ago that they weren’t worth it. 

Did he miss some of the good memories? Small half smiles from Natasha. A “Thanks Wing-head” from Steve. Getting pet on the head by Hulk. The easy banter on the comms with Clint. Thor’s booming voice in otherwise serious SHIELD debriefings. 

Sure. He missed some of the time they spent together. But that wasn’t enough to discount all the negative dynamics of their dysfunctional ass “team”.

He was happy, his issues were manageable, things were finally comfortable and not strained with the most important people in his life. He loved spending time with Loki. 

And therein lied the problem. He had everything he could have wanted and more than he could have foreseen but he still wanted more. He loved Loki. 

He loved the way his eyes lit up when he was teasing one of their team members or flawlessly executing a prank. He loved the soft genuine smiles he would get whenever he complimented Lokis’ magic. He loved how easy it was to just talk to and be around Loki no matter what was going to shit in the world around them. Loki’s nightmares had nightmares. And somedays he was downright acerbic to anyone that bothered him when they had been particularly bad. He scowled if anybody off handedly praised Thor and sometimes disappeared into his spell books for days without warning. But Tony loved him even more for all of that. They were both scarred and deeply flawed and imperfect but in a way that meshed just right. 

Tony still had the note Loki had gave him. The paper note. If Pepper knew he had been saving a piece of paper, she would have told Rhodey and they would have teased him incessantly about it until he made a move. 

He clutched the note tight in his hand as he and Loki turned their attention towards the TV in the workshop. The Accords had gotten word of Thanos’s army approaching from their allies in space. Today, the Council was announcing the imminent invasion and the entire threat of Thanos to the public. 

For all the wrong reasons, Tony was nearly trembling with nervousness. 

Loki looked over at him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 

“It will be okay”, Loki said. 

“I know.” He paused, “As long as I have you by my side.”

Loki turned his head quickly towards him at that. Moving slowly and telegraphing his intention, he captured Loki’s lips in a kiss. 

It felt hot and electric and a thousand times better than he could have imagined. Loki seemed to agree. They kept kissing almost frantically and then slower with heavy eye contact in between breaks to breathe. 

“Tony!” came Pepper’s frantic voice from the opening elevator doors. 

“About damn time” Rhodey commented, taking in the scene. 

Tony smiled cheekily at that and felt Loki slip his hand into his. 

“I’m guessing you didn’t hear the President on the news. There’s no easy way to say this,” Pepper began, uncharacteristically unconfident in what she was about to say. 

Rhodey cut in. “President Ellis got scared about the potential panic and backlash after the Accords announcement. He wanted to reassure the public that the US was going to be just fine. He pardoned those assholes. What do you want to do?”

“Be petty,” Tony replied. He sported a wicked smile. “Pepper, do your worst”. 

She matched his smile, already dialing a number as she walked back towards the elevator as Rhodey and Loki both laughed. 

Tony wouldn’t have actively sought the Rogues out but since they were coming to his turf, he was going to bury them. 

Restraining orders. Civil suits. Stipulations of psychiatric and physical evaluation if they wanted to join the New Avengers. Appointments set 2 years out if they wanted to talk to him directly. Payment if they wanted his gear updates and to use his Compound. No housing provided. No stipend provided. 

Friday was already monitoring the reaction to President Ellis’ announcement and there was an international outcry. Several countries were trying to extradite them. Most Americans didn’t want them back. Friday had saved a tweet that suggested they be sent into space in a ship and so they could damage Thanos’ forces, keeping them out of the way from hurting anyone else.

Other than Natasha, the Rogues were probably all stupid enough to believe that things would go back to normal when they got back. They weren’t the type to self-reflect and make up for past mistakes. 

By the look on Loki’s face and the fact that the New Avengers groupchat was blowing up with texts, it seemed like the Ex-vengers would have a hell of a time trying to reintegrate.


End file.
